RUMOUR MILL: Sol Campbell To Oldham, A Serious Consideration or Just Another Long Shot?

According to current odds, Sol Campbell is favourite to become the next Oldham manager after the postseason exit of Peter Wild.

There appears to be no solid proof that he’s even interested, however, it has still been reported in the local press which in turn gives those looking for clues added signs that it is true.

This is in spite of his declaration, that he intends to still be around at Macclesfield when next season commences but has ‘limited patience’ with off-field goings-on affecting his squad. Presumably, he would be expected to ignore the Oldham off the pitch sideshow if he made the move to Boundary Park.

On paper, Campbell would be an ideal candidate for the job. Not because he has vast experience at managing a lower level side but because he defied all odds to keep Macclesfield in League Two and, has witnessed at first hand a club in steep decline.

It has to be accepted that Campbell did an excellent job in keeping the Silkmen in this division, given that the odds were stacked against him. The point Macclesfield gained on the last day of the season was enough to keep them up, but the unpaid players nearly boycotted the game as a protest. Given the importance of the fixture however, they recanted and managed to get the result they needed.

If merely being able to keep a side in the lowest division is looked upon as a success, then Campbell may well become Abdallah Lemsagam’s fifth managerial appointment since he arrived. Oldham must surely be looking to improve on last seasons league position, given that two of the clubs who came down with us have managed to return to League One at the first time of asking.

The list of possible managers includes many who have failed at this level and, Campbell still has a great deal to do to prove that he is capable of steering a side to promotion. Given that the Oldham job is supposedly looked on as a poisoned chalice, Sol may well think he is better off at a club without a Chairman, with players threatening strike action and facing a winding-up order in the High Court.

If that is anywhere near the truth, the club is indeed locked in a downward spiral that few managers would be keen to try and reverse.